


what seemed like a ruin

by sandyk



Series: season 3 tried to be canon post eps [12]
Category: Superstore (TV)
Genre: F/M, a watermelon sized overreaction, mentally ill Jonah, post ep 312
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 14:00:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13548831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandyk/pseuds/sandyk
Summary: Jonah gets in his car again for a long drive.





	what seemed like a ruin

**Author's Note:**

> not mine, no profit garnered. title from the national's pink rabbits

"Tate, huh?" Jonah said. He was pretty sure he sounded casual. He didn't exactly feel casual. He'd honestly slept like shit and then Kelly had kept asking if something was wrong and he could not understand why she couldn't get he was allowed to be in a bad mood. So he was still in a bad mood, and now he was sitting next to Amy in the break room. There was barely anyone in there for the morning meeting. 

"Whatever," Amy said. "It was one time."

"You yelled at him about his greasy hair plugs. And Glenn said his penis is weird." This was not what Jonah had planned to say. 

"Glenn is wrong," Amy said. "I, why are you and Glenn talking about Tate's penis?"

"Glenn brought it up," Jonah said. "But, really, Tate?"

"Whatever," Amy said. "He's a 10. Like me." Amy looked miserable when she said it and Jonah was weirdly happy. Amy looked at him. "What's with the disdain? You spent two days doing stupid announcements with your girlfriend."

"They weren't stupid," Jonah said. 

"Oh, they were," Amy said. 

"So, great, we're both happy and satisfied and dating great people," Jonah said.

"I'm 100% not dating. That was the first time I did anything, in, like, 15 years with someone who wasn't Adam," Amy said. She said it quietly. For a moment Jonah was reminded of when they were friends and also, that time she kissed him. 

"Anything?" Jonah said. He crossed his arms and did not have a lump in his throat. 

Amy looked away. Apparently the meeting was never starting and no one was coming into work except Janet and Heather who were sitting in the back, both staring at their phones. Jonah really wanted to get up and walk out. Amy said, "Fine, not everything. Sorry? Did that actually hurt your feelings?"

"Yes," Jonah said. "Sorry, I meant to lie."

Amy said, "Here comes Glenn, let's talk about this later."

"I know what that means," Jonah said. 

He did not get much done. He was mostly doing go backs and doing that slowly. Then he saw Mateo staring at him weirdly, and Jonah could already anticipate how Mateo would make this sound. Jealous, miserable, Jonah. Not that it was wrong, but Jonah really didn't want to hear about it from any of his coworkers. 

It also occurred to him that it would really hurt Kelly's feelings.

When it was time for lunch, he walked out and went to his car. He sat in the front seat for a minute, his hands on the wheel. Naturally, that was the minute Amy walked over and knocked on his window. "Please don't drive away," Amy said. "I actually need you to get out of the car before we talk."

"I was thinking about going to that barbecue place Brett loves, I was going to go out for lunch," Jonah said. He really had been thinking about that. He got out of his car, though, since Amy asked. 

It occurred to him he should break up with Kelly. He was a shit boyfriend. There was the angel thing, too. 

Amy said, "The groundhog is going to live, by the way. He should be okay."

"Was he in trouble? That's why you don't want me to get barbecue?"

Amy frowned. "Yeah, look, I don't want you in your car when you're in a bad mood because I don't want you to drive out of town and just keep going until you hit the ocean or something."

"I've done that once," Jonah said. "And I wasn't in a bad mood that time, I was, it was completely different."

Amy said, "Okay, it's not the first time I did anything. I know we kissed, that happened."

"Really? Cause we've talked about it so much," Jonah said. "Actually, let's rewind back to September, I do want to have that conversation where we kissed and everything's awkward, that was exactly the conversation I wanted to have. Sorry I'm not a 10 like Tate."

"That's not the right comparison," Amy said. She stepped back. "I'm pretty sure you're at least a 9. And, like, a real 9, not Tate's artificial 10 with no personality."

Jonah rolled his eyes. "Okay. I guess we've had the conversation we're going to have."

"No," Amy said. He wasn't looking at her and her voice sounded weird. "No," she said. "No. I hate change, remember?"

Jonah sighed. "Thanks for remembering I exist, I'm heading inside." 

He managed to get off work early and it was a weird decision but he thought about it. He really thought about it and he drove to Kelly's. It was the right way to break up with someone, in person. He went with he "really wasn't in the right place " and he "was probably still dealing with losing all my stuff" and ended with "you deserve better."

Kelly said, "Fuck you." She also threw the things he'd left in her house all over the yard. It took her a few trips to come to the door and throw things so it took about ten minutes and was very awkward.

He got in his car and turned towards Garrett's. He drove by Garrett's. He turned on a podcast about politics. It was depressing, though, listening to people talk about politics. Depressing, he thought. Iowa, he thought. Straight across Missouri and then drive up. One time Amy told him it wasn't a virtue to easily abandon everyone you knew and everything you had. 

It was really dark and he pulled over in the parking lot of a McDonald's. He took out his phone and noticed he had calls from Garrett and Amy. He called Garrett first. "Where the fuck are you?"

"Cedar Rapids, Iowa," Jonah said. "It's fine, I'm turning around now."

"You drove 300 miles to Iowa because Amy had sex with Tate? Holy shit, Jonah, turn around and get back here. Randy knows a great guy --"

"To date?"

"No, he's a great shrink. You need a shrink," Garrett said. "You've needed one, I should have said something earlier. It makes sense, man, you had some trauma there. And you weren't so stable before the tornado."

Jonah walked into the McDonalds. He loved 24 hours McDonalds. He said, "That's nice? I mean, you're never nice to me."

"Yeah, I'm a dick. But seriously, get your food, go to the bathroom and come home. I would like you to come home. Don't tell anyone I said that," Garrett said.

"That sounds like you," Jonah said. "I get that I'm overreacting, but you know what? During the tornado, Amy kissed me. She really did and then, this morning, she said she hadn't done anything in 15 years except with Adam until she banged him. She had sex with him."

"Glenn said his penis was weird," Garrett said. "Okay, that's tough. But you have a girlfriend, right?"

"I broke up with her, she was more into me than I was into her, I feel like maybe I was using her," Jonah said. "I'm going to order now and I'll call you back. Probably."

He took out his phone and read twitter while he ate his chicken McNuggets and french fries. Amy had texted him, too. His impulse to get away wasn't just about Amy. It wasn't about Amy that much. His place was destroyed. He had lived in a trailer. No one talked to him. He had lots of reason to break down. Not that this was a breakdown. It was a little breakdown. 

He used the bathroom and was really surprised at how clean it was. He didn't know how they did it. Then he got in his car and turned back to St. Louis. He called Garrett. "I don't really need a shrink."

"Oh, yeah, you do. But why don't we talk about that when you're actually in St.Louis and specifically in the apartment? I'll call you in sick to work, tomorrow, Kelly will probably appreciate it," Garrett said. 

"I was going to break her heart, I just wanted to do it quickly so she could move on," Jonah said.

"Yup, sure," Garrett said. "If we get off the phone are you going to turn to Iowa again?"

"No," Jonah said. "You really want me to come back?"

"Yes, I do," Garrett said. "We'll get you fixed up right."

"I don't know if I need to be fixed," Jonah said.

"You're completely wrong," Garrett said. 

Jonah had always loathed silence so he put on another podcast. This one was much more cheery. There was an interview with Tig Notaro and he thought she was hilarious. It was 5 am when he parked on the street outside Garrett's. He went inside and presented Garrett with the meal he'd bought at the McDonald's two blocks from his place. He also said, very firmly, "Really, I'm fine."

Garrett said, "Nope, but let's eat and you can take a nice nap. Then we're go from there."


End file.
